A joint effort by Rhys Fulber and former Front Line Assembly bandmate Bill Leeb, Delerium has produced some of the most unusual sounds to emanate from Vancouver, Canada. With Leeb responsible for finding samples, writing lyrics, creating bass lines, sequencing, and overseeing the project and Fulber handling the sampling and programming, and... [+] Read More

A joint effort by Rhys Fulber and former Front Line Assembly bandmate Bill Leeb, Delerium has produced some of the most unusual sounds to emanate from Vancouver, Canada. With Leeb responsible for finding samples, writing lyrics, creating bass lines, sequencing, and overseeing the project and Fulber handling the sampling and programming, and using a chords/string pad to craft additional melodies and arrangements, the group's sound is a dance-inspiring mix of electronics and post-industrial attitude.

Although he initially attracted attention as a member of several cyberpunk/industrial bands, Fulber took a more ambient dance approach with Delerium. The group found success with its 1997 debut album, Karma, which sold more than a quarter of a million copies and included a major club/dance hit, "Silence," that reached number three in the United Kingdom, number one in Ireland, number four in Belgium, and number five in Australia.

With the members of Delerium separating in the mid-'90s, Fulber produced albums by P.O.D., Sarah Brightman, David Foster, and Fear Factory. The band reunited in 2001 and released Poem followed by Chimera two years later. In 2004, Nettwerk released the 1994-2004 collection Best of. Fulber and Leeb have also recorded as Intermix and Noise Unit. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Formed from the ashes of the trance-rockers Spacemen 3, singer/guitarist Jason Pierce's group Spiritualized did not break away from his prior band's trademark hypnotic minimalism; instead, they perfected it. Drawing on the continued influence of the Velvet Underground, La Monte Young, and Steve Reich, Spiritualized staked out a common ground... [+] Read More

Formed from the ashes of the trance-rockers Spacemen 3, singer/guitarist Jason Pierce's group Spiritualized did not break away from his prior band's trademark hypnotic minimalism; instead, they perfected it. Drawing on the continued influence of the Velvet Underground, La Monte Young, and Steve Reich, Spiritualized staked out a common ground between minimalism and lush symphonics -- while powered by simple, repetitious motifs, their songs simultaneously blossomed into rich, shimmering sonic panoramas inspired by the majestic studio wizardry of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. Such seeming contradictions were essential to the group's alchemy: while the infamous Spacemen 3 tag of "taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" remained a cornerstone of their craft, at the same time Spiritualized's very name acknowledged the existence of other forces, further reflected in their heavy debt to gospel and soul music as well as an affinity for mantras and devotional hymns.

Although Spiritualized fully emerged after the acrimonious breakup of Spacemen 3, in truth the band's roots extended back to the band's final LP, 1990's Recurring. A Spacemen 3 album in name only, Recurring was split evenly between independently recorded work from Pierce and estranged partner Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember; as a result, while Kember's side presaged his eventual work with Spectrum, Pierce's half, recorded with most of the musicians who would later comprise Spiritualized (including guitarist Mark Refoy, bassist Willie B. Carruthers, and drummer Jon Mattock), predated the orchestral drones that became the band's hallmark. The first true Spiritualized single, a dramatic reading of the Troggs' "Anyway That You Want Me," was the final nail in the coffin -- reportedly, Kember was so incensed by the Spacemen 3 logo which appeared on the disc's jacket that he disbanded the group for good.

In 1991, Spiritualized returned with a string of EPs -- Feel So Sad, Run/I Want You, and Smile/Sway -- before their long-awaited debut, Lazer Guided Melodies, finally appeared the following year. The masterful, blissed-out result of Pierce's obsessive studio fine-tuning and endless remixing, the album was promoted by the band's slot on the high-profile Rollercoaster tour, where they appeared with the Jesus and Mary Chain and Curve. An excellent limited-edition live document, Fucked Up Inside, followed in 1993, trailed by another EP, Electric Mainline, later in the year.

In 1995, Spiritualized -- now a trio consisting of Pierce, keyboardist/guitarist Kate Radley, and bassist Sean Cook -- issued Pure Phase, a heady, dense production which boasted separate mixes from each stereo channel. With 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, Pierce deliberately jettisoned many of the band's usual points of departure, including drones, tremolos, and phase tones; recorded with new drummer Damon Reece, it featured a cameo appearance from legendary New Orleans pianist Dr. John on one track, while Memphis studio legend Jim Dickinson appeared on another. Other guests included the Balanescu Quartet (also featured on Pure Phase), the Greater London Gospel Community Choir, and Spring Heel Jack. The two-disc Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997 live album followed in late 1998.

The following year, Pierce gutted Spiritualized's lineup, firing Cook, Reece, and Mike Mooney, who formed Lupine Howl soon after their dismissal; Radley apparently left soon after she married Verve frontman and solo artist Richard Ashcroft. Only saxophonist Ray Dickaty and sometime keyboardist Thighpaulsandra (aka Tim Lewis) remained in the band. Pierce began writing and recording material for the next Spiritualized album at George Martin's Air Studios and recruited percussionist Tom Edwards, bassist Martin Shallards, Echoboy drummer Kev Bales, and guitarist Dogan, from Julian Cope's band, for the sessions. The new album, Let It Come Down, which featured an even lusher, more involved sound than Ladies and Gentlemen, was released in mid-2001. The follow-up, 2003's Amazing Grace, was more of a back-to-basics record. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Combining an inclination for melodic '60s pop with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!, Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative bands of the '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab either legitimized forms of music that were on the fringe of rock, or brought attention to strands of... [+] Read More

Combining an inclination for melodic '60s pop with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!, Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative bands of the '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab either legitimized forms of music that were on the fringe of rock, or brought attention to strands of pop music -- bossa nova, lounge-pop, movie soundtracks -- that were traditionally banished from the rock lineage. The group's trademark sound -- a droning, hypnotic rhythm track overlaid with melodic, mesmerizing singsong vocals, often sung in French and often promoting revolutionary, Marxist politics -- was deceptively simple, providing the basis for a wide array of stylistic experiments over the course of their prolific career. Throughout it all, Stereolab relied heavily on forgotten methods of recording, whether it was analog synthesizers and electronics or a fondness for hi-fi test records, without ever sinking to the level of kitsch.

Tim Gane (born July 12, 1964; guitar, keyboards) was the leader of McCarthy, a London-based band from the late '80s that functioned as a prototype for Stereolab's sound. Gane met Laetitia Sadier (born May 6, 1968; vocals, keyboards), a French-born vocalist, at one of McCarthy's concerts. The pair began a romantic relationship that became a musical collaboration after McCarthy disbanded in 1990; Sadier did sing on the final McCarthy album. The duo began releasing mail-order singles under the name Stereolab, borrowing their name from a form of record mastering from the late '50s. At that point, the group was working with Th' Faith Healers drummer Joe Dilworth and former Chills bassist Martin Kean; Gina Morris occasionally provided backup vocals. All three singles this incarnation of Stereolab released were compiled on Switched On, an album released on Too Pure Records in 1992. Switched On was released at the same time as the band's official debut album, Peng! Both albums featured a variation on a maniacally grinning cartoon, which was their only visual trademark at the time.

Switched On and Peng!, along with the 1992 Lo-Fi EP and a series of limited-edition singles like "John Cage Bubblegum" -- which, coincidentally, was the first Stereolab recording to feature keyboardist/vocalist Mary Hansen and drummer Andy Ramsay, who became two of the group's core members -- Stereolab carved out a cult following, particularly in the U.K. underground. Released in early 1993, The Groop Played "Space Age Batchelor Pad Music" featured the core group of Gane, Sadier, Hansen, and Ramsay, along with ex-Microdisney guitarist Sean O'Hagan and bassist Duncan Brown. One of the first '90s alternative records to explicitly draw from the "Space Age" lounge-pop music of the '50s, The Groop became an underground sensation, paving the way toward Stereolab's first American record contract with Elektra Records. But before the band made their major-label debut, they released the split 10" EP Crumb Duck with Nurse with Wound in the summer of 1993 and formed their own U.K. label, Duophonic.

Stereolab's next album, and their first American release, was Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements. Released in the fall of 1993, Transient became an underground and college hit throughout the U.S. and U.K., and Stereolab soon became a hip name to drop for many musicians, including Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Blur, who had Laetitia Sadier provide guest vocals on their 1994 hit single "To the End." Where Transient was dominated by a lo-fi experimentalism, the group's sound became lusher and more layered with Mars Audiac Quintet, which was released in the fall of 1994. O'Hagan moved from a full member to a part-time guest during the recording of the album -- he was busy forming his own band, the High Llamas -- and the band added keyboardist Katherine Gifford.

By the time of Mars Audiac Quintet's release, the Stereolab sound had become prominent throughout the underground, and the group began to make efforts to change their sound, as the limited-edition 1995 EP Music for the Amorphous Body Study Centre indicated. Created for an interactive art exhibit by Charles Long, the EP boasted detailed, intricate string and vocal arrangements which were more sophisticated than the group's previous releases. That fall, the band rounded up a bunch of singles and B-sides for the second Switched On compilation, Refried Ectoplasm, which was released on Drag City in the U.S. Before the band recorded a new album, Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote. Emperor Tomato Ketchup, released in the spring of 1996, was a break from the drone rock of its two predecessors, demonstrating a heavy hip-hop, jazz, and dance influence. The album was the greatest success to date, earning positive reviews in both U.S. and U.K. and becoming a significant college hit in the process. After the recording of Emperor Tomato Ketchup, bassist Duncan Brown was replaced by Richard Harrison. At the end of 1996, Stereolab released the limited-edition, horn-driven Fluorescences EP. Dots and Loops appeared a year later and, like Emperor Tomato Ketchup before it, featured the production and playing of Tortoise's John McEntire. Further bolstering the Stereolab lineup for Dots and Loops was German techno-pop refugee Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars.

After taking time off following the birth of Gane and Sadier's first child, Stereolab resurfaced in 1999 with Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, and in keeping with their collaborative streak, they employed the production services of McEntire (again) and Jim O'Rourke. An EP, The First of the Microbe Hunters, quickly followed in 2000. Their eighth full-length, Sound-Dust, arrived in mid-2001. Having made several appearances on BBC Radio, a collection spanning ten years, ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions, was released in the fall of 2002. In December 2002, mere months after the release of ABC Music, longtime Stereolab member Mary Hansen died at the age of 36 when the bicycle she was riding was hit by a truck. Hansen's backing vocals had complemented Sadier's lead since she first joined the group in 1992 and in many ways helped define the singsong style that anchored Stereolab's vanguard and eclectic pop music. The group soldiered on, however, and released its first album without Hansen, Margerine Eclipse, in 2004. Two years later, Fab Four Suture, a collection of previously released limited-edition EPs, was released on Too Pure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Wade Kergan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Formed in Bristol, England in 1993, the elusive avant-noise project Flying Saucer Attack primarily comprised the duo of singers/guitarists David Pearce and Rachel Brook, refugees from the group Lynda's Strange Vacation who formed FSA as an outlet for their interest in home-recording experimentation. Drawing influence from Krautrock, folk, and... [+] Read More

Formed in Bristol, England in 1993, the elusive avant-noise project Flying Saucer Attack primarily comprised the duo of singers/guitarists David Pearce and Rachel Brook, refugees from the group Lynda's Strange Vacation who formed FSA as an outlet for their interest in home-recording experimentation. Drawing influence from Krautrock, folk, and dream pop, they bowed with the single "Soaring High," followed by an eponymously-titled 1993 debut LP which buried the group's narcoleptic vocals and amorphous songs under dense, organic sheets of feedback.

After 1994's Distance, a collection of atmospheric singles and unreleased material, FSA emerged in 1995 with Further, a remarkably evocative work which transported the group's hypnotic guitar wash into a uniquely pastoral setting. Chorus, another singles compilation, followed later in the year, and with it came a declaration of the end of the group's initial phase, setting the stage for Flying Saucer Attack's continued evolution as one of the decade's most innovative and ambitious groups. 1997's New Lands was the first fruit of this new FSA, now a Pearce solo project exploring the possibilities of sampling; Brook, meanwhile, focused on her side group Movietone, a similarly blissed-out excursion into sound. FSA followed up New Lands three years later with Mirror ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Detroit-based indie pop group Godzuki formed in 1993 out of the band members' shared passion for science and new wave music. Singer/keyboardist Erika Hoffman, drummer Scott Michalski, guitarist/bassist Chris Fachini, and guitarist Dion Fischer played in other Detroit-area indie rock bands such as His Name Is Alive, the Whales, the Ohms, the... [+] Read More

The Detroit-based indie pop group Godzuki formed in 1993 out of the band members' shared passion for science and new wave music. Singer/keyboardist Erika Hoffman, drummer Scott Michalski, guitarist/bassist Chris Fachini, and guitarist Dion Fischer played in other Detroit-area indie rock bands such as His Name Is Alive, the Whales, the Ohms, the Volebeats, the Mystic Moog Orchestra, and Teach Me Tiger.

After releasing a string of 7"s, Godzuki released their full-length debut, Trail of the Lonesome Pine, in 1996 on March Records. Produced by the Pulsars' Dave Trumfio, Matthew Smith of Detroit's Outrageous Cherry, and His Name Is Alive's Warren Defever, the group's first album mixes sweet vocals with fuzzy guitars and buzzing synths in a blend Godzuki calls "science rock." 1997 saw the release of Free Wade, also produced by Defever, on the Time Stereo label. This album combined the group's experimental, noisy tendencies with the saxophone playing of their high school friend, Wade the Free Jazz Saxophonist, in four long, groove-based tracks.

Godzuki released their third album, Your Future, in the fall of 1998 on March Records. Your Future was also produced by Warren Defever and features artwork by Teenbeat's Mark Robinson. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Though the Hope Blister is technically a continuation of 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell's project This Mortal Coil, its small, steady lineup of musicians and focus on covers sets it apart from his previous project. ...smile's ok, the Hope Blister's 1998 debut, takes this seemingly restrictive concept and integrates it into the larger 4AD vision,... [+] Read More

Though the Hope Blister is technically a continuation of 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell's project This Mortal Coil, its small, steady lineup of musicians and focus on covers sets it apart from his previous project. ...smile's ok, the Hope Blister's 1998 debut, takes this seemingly restrictive concept and integrates it into the larger 4AD vision, thanks to the return of former This Mortal Coil vocalist Louise Rutkowski and the album's versions of labelmates' songs. Heidi Berry's "Only Human" and "Dagger" by Neil Halstead (of Slowdive and the label's own Mojave 3) receive new readings, while "Is Jesus Your Pal," by Iceland's Slow Blow, was also covered by the label's Gus Gus. "Sweet Unknown," written by the similarly ethereal Cranes, is also remade on ...smile's ok. The album's sparse instrumentation, which includes Laurence O'Keefe's subtle bass and Audrey Riley's cello playing and string arrangements, conveys great emotion with little clutter. For Watts-Russell and crew, as well as 4AD, the Hope Blister is a natural progression, and a welcome one. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Though it was the group's major-label debut, Stereolab's Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements showed no signs of selling out. If anything, it's one of the most eclectic and experimental releases in Stereolab's early career, emphasizing the group's elongated Krautrock jams, instrumentals, and harsh, noisy moments. The album begins and... [+] Read More

Though it was the group's major-label debut, Stereolab's Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements showed no signs of selling out. If anything, it's one of the most eclectic and experimental releases in Stereolab's early career, emphasizing the group's elongated Krautrock jams, instrumentals, and harsh, noisy moments. The album begins and ends with smooth, sensual washes of sound like "Tone Burst" and "Lock-Groove Lullaby" and smoothly bouncy pop songs like "I'm Going Out of My Way." These softer, more accessible moments surround complex and varied compositions such as "Analogue Rock," "Our Trinitone Blast," and "Golden Ball," which, with its distorted vocals and shifting tempos, serves as an appetizer for "Jenny Ondioline." A hypnotic, 18-minute epic encompassing dreamy yet driving pop, a Krautrock groove, forceful, churning guitars, and a furious climax, it's the most ambitious -- and definitive -- moment of Stereolab's early years. But Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements also features quietly experimental pieces such as "Pause," a slightly spooky song that uses distorted whispers as a rhythm track and places fluttery keyboards and Laetitia Sadier and Mary Hansen's sweet, slightly alien harmonies atop it. Likewise, the very sexy, very French "Pack Yr Romantic Mind" reveals the growing influence of '50s and '60s easy listening on the group's musical direction. If Switched On and Peng! defined the band's essential sound, Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements expanded it, reaffirming Stereolab's place as one of the most innovative and evolving groups of the '90s. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The American Analog Set's wonderful second album delivers upon all the promise of their debut: From the spellbinding opener "Magnificent Seventies" onward, From Our Living Room to Yours weaves a sonic tapestry of remarkable intricacy and texture. Andrew Kenny's songs are more subtly dynamic here than on The Fun of Watching Fireworks, further... [+] Read More

The American Analog Set's wonderful second album delivers upon all the promise of their debut: From the spellbinding opener "Magnificent Seventies" onward, From Our Living Room to Yours weaves a sonic tapestry of remarkable intricacy and texture. Andrew Kenny's songs are more subtly dynamic here than on The Fun of Watching Fireworks, further exploring the strengths of his taut, austere compositions; vocals are at an even greater premium than before, translating as extended instrumental passages wherein the group's minimalist melodies achieve a trance-like power. Lisa Roschmann's Farfisa remains AmAnSet's greatest asset, limning tracks like "Using the Hope Diamond as a Doorstop" and "Where Have All the Good Boys Gone" with an energy and warmth which set the band far apart from the darker impulses of their Texas psych-rock contemporaries -- From Our Living Room to Yours is truly a thing of beauty. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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Warp's first rock/pop signing since Pulp (yup, Pulp) were Stereolab-soundalikes Broadcast, whose early singles for Wurlitzer Jukebox and the 'Lab's own Duophonic label attracted much attention for the their sing-songy fusions of Tortoise-y groovebox meandering and clean-room electronica. Work and Non Work, the group's Warp debut, is really... [+] Read More

Warp's first rock/pop signing since Pulp (yup, Pulp) were Stereolab-soundalikes Broadcast, whose early singles for Wurlitzer Jukebox and the 'Lab's own Duophonic label attracted much attention for the their sing-songy fusions of Tortoise-y groovebox meandering and clean-room electronica. Work and Non Work, the group's Warp debut, is really nothing more than a compilation of those singles ("Accidentals," "Living Room," and The Book Lovers EP, to be exact). As a mini-LP for the new initiate, it serves as a handy one-stop updater, but since most of it appeared elsewhere within the previous six months and not a single second of previously unavailable material is included, it's not worth much to fans of any duration. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide [-] Hide